lordpil's blog

probably any of those will last way longer than the $20 black thing
i dont mind the ones like that but they were through where youre doing work
yeah thats kind of minimum
it wouldnt be if it was just the open foam, no skin
http://www.jensentools.com/desco-45010-conductive-sponge-rubber-mat-16-x-24/p/412-385
the open foam ones like that, 1/8" mouse pad thickness, they seem okay

between the blue ones?
im not positive, but i believe the light blue one has a glossy finish, and the darker blue one has more texture
personally i like a bit of texture bit, its not as sticky on my skin, but its more difficult to clean, like if flux gets on it
yeah i think all of those are the kind of matte skinned ones
in general i like the thicker mats because they lie flat quicker and dont get ruffled

http://www.jensentools.com/scs-8214-table-mat-blue-2-x-4/p/126-970
those i think
http://www.jensentools.com/scs-8811-two-layer-static-dissipative-rubber-table-mat-2-x-4-blue/p/403-773
i think the difference is mostly the smoothed skinned foam one on side, versus the cheaper one you linked

you can also get stuff that isnt foamy at all, its just thick plastic, heavy
i dunno i dont care so much
thing is you dont really want to work on them directly
when soldering, heat can go through boards and parts and melt the matt underneath
and during operation, especially with micropower and very high speed circuits, sometimes the high z shorting across the bottom of the circuit will mess with stuff
the mat is more about grounding you than the work
that looks fine
thats a good prioce reference
theyll be a little more if you get a thicker one, a little less if you buy with less or no snaps
yeah the light blue glossy ones last forever

same thing
theyre high Z, but not infinite Z
same as the straps
i believe its usually a few Mohm in series in the straps
DO NOT USE them if youre working with HV, like >1kV
theyre not hi-z enough in that context, so you might get enough current to stop your heart
hmm
the textures and durability are diff
more expensive ones will have the button snap for the straps installed
cheap stuff might just be a mat, then youre supposed to buy the button snaps and the rivit tool to install them
really only makes sense if youre doing a whole lab
as far as texture, there is stuff with a thick glossy skin, and other stuff that still has a small cell foam texture
the glossy stuff doesnt melt as fast if you drop an iron on it